


One Card Spread

by CircusBones



Series: The Endless [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), GAIMAN Neil - Works, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sandman Comics, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Death, F/M, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Tarot, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-28
Updated: 2013-02-28
Packaged: 2017-12-03 21:03:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/702615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CircusBones/pseuds/CircusBones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sorting through her late father's things, Darcy finds his goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Card Spread

**Author's Note:**

> I love this verse, my next long Marvel fic will be in it :D Enjoy!

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Death is scary. Sometimes.

Other times, Death is also a pretty girl in black lipstick and a top hat, who waits at the doorways between worlds like a sweet, understanding friend. 

Darcy catches a glimpse of Death, the day she finally arrives in Vancouver to rummage through her late father's things. Steve, predictably, lets out a whistle over the comic book collection on display on the shelves, and it makes her grin. It's hard, though, being there. Remembering the way her lanky, ridiculous father had looked in here, toward the end, after all the chemo and fighting had left him a thinner, frailer shell. A man with so many toys, and even more secrets, dying alone in a rainy, cold city. 

“He said this box was for you, especially,” The girl, who'd said she was a neighbor, told Darcy, pointing to the raggedly bit of cardboard in a corner, “The rest you could keep, or not! Whatever!” The girl smacked a bright pink bubble with her gum, her lipstick remaining flawless. Somehow, nothing about it was the least disrespectful.

“Oh, something tells me the comics are staying in the family forever,” Darcy chuckled, getting a solid 'Damn right!' from behind her. Oh Steve. He'd been a prince of a boyfriend, as usual, but especially since she decided to come out. She'd known very well that she'd lose him for a while to her dad's nearly-complete Superman collection, though.

The girl wandered off, presumably back to her own domicile, while Darcy dragged the indicated box out into the middle of the rough hardwood floor. It was full of...oh, the expected things, really. A little box holding his wedding ring, a little photo album of her visits to Vancouver since the divorce, ticket stubs from his favorite movies. Ah, Alan Lewis, geek to the last, Darcy smiled, dabbing at her eyes, flipping through pictures of them at museums, cheesy tourist restaurants, camping trips in Canadian parks. She saw herself age through middleschool, highschool, and gain barely any inches on her dad in the process, save around the hips and chest.

Then, near the bottom of the small box, her hands slipped around the unmistakable shape of a card deck. Drawing it out, Darcy frowned, tilting her head. It was a tarot deck. She'd never, ever known her father to be into that kind of thing. A kind of thing she herself had, funnily enough, found herself stumbling into and being kind of amazing at (after certain events involving being indwelt by a Witch from another realm). 

It was a beautiful deck, too, with art she'd never seen before. The Lovers were a very pale man cloaked in black, a dark-skinned woman in many colors. There were little girls wearing rainbows and spiders, and a deep-cowled figure holding a heavy book, chained to his wrist. Each was so achingly lovely, a startled little gasp left her lips, drawing Steve's attention away from the Man of Steel. “Alright there, hun?” He frowned, setting down a comic and moving to her side. Darcy nodded, slowly, starting to shuffle the deck almost without realizing it.

“Dad...I never saw this, any time I was here,” She told him, clearing her throat. Three months with her, Steve recognized a Tarot deck when he saw one, letting out a long 'ahhhh', nodding. And then sharing her frown.

“...Maybe he took it up?” Her big ol' Superhero suggested, moving closer to her side on the floor, propping his chin on her shoulder, “Looking for answers as things...well, moved along toward the end, maybe?” Darcy could see that, yeah, nodding.

“Maybe...he was open, like that, not like mom,” She smirked, recalling her mother's reaction to her daughters' new spiritual affiliation. It had involved a 'that's so nice dear!' and then an invitation to Yoga the next morning. Californians, man. “This, though...I can't explain it better than, it gives me a good feeling?”

“After all I've seen lately, hun, 'good feeling' sounds refreshingly normal,” Steve chuckled, as she cut the deck. Darcy shut her eyes, murmuring a few times before cutting the deck three more time, and doing a one-card drawing. As she turned the card over on the floor, another soft gasp left her lips.

The Death card. 

Another beautiful piece of art, a girl before a backdrop of waving green grass and grey skies. The girl was pale, black-haired, with a soft little smile behind black lips, black parasol in hand. With her other hand, she reached toward the reader, beckoning as a dear, kind friend, known to you for all her beauty and youth. She was also old, kind, honest. All of this was in her face. 

Darcy smiled, slowly, her eyes welling up even as Steve cleared his throat behind her.

“...Death card is a bad sign, isn't it?”

“...Only sometimes,” Darcy swallowed, swiping at her eyes, “Uh, like, overall? Just means an ending, which also means new beginnings....” She paused, staring at the girl, at her bright eyes, lips, running a finger along the card, feeling the energy there...the blue stone on her hand flared for one brilliant moment, and Darcy bit her lip. “...I think it's him,” She whispered, “I think he's saying goodbye...I think he's saying good luck...”

Steve had long ago learned not to question the intuition that, all that his girlfriend had been through had left her with. His arm wrapped around her shoulders tight, and he kissed her temple once, twice, “Nice guy. I like him more and more!” Her laugh filled the dusty, long-abandoned apartment.

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End file.
